Tsjetsjenië

Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - oktober 2014

Chechens to be drafted to the army: The Russian general staff has announced that it will draft young men from Chechnya this fall for the first time in 20 years and will begin drafting young men from Crimea and Sevastopol next spring. Meanwhile the number of men from Dagestan will be limited only to 4000, while the Dagestan MPs asked to increase this number to 35000. (NG, Noviye Izvestia, Kommersant)

6 oktober 2014

Five policemen killed in Grozny suicide bomb attack: (i) Five policemen were killed and 12 other people were injured in a suicide bombing on Sunday in Grozny. The attack was perpetrated at the entrance to a concert hall where a concert was planned to be held on the occasion of City Day in Grozny. The suspected suicide bomber has been identified as a 19-year-old local resident Apti Mudarov. According to some reports, Mudarov left his home several months ago. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov [who marked his birthday also on Sunday] said that the policemen had prevented a large-scale terrorist attack. Kommersant recalls that in August 2012, at least three Russian servicemen were killed in a suicide bombing outside the Khankala military base in Chechnya. (ii) Two militants were killed in an operation in Kabardino-Balkaria, the National Antiterrorism Committee said on Sunday. (Gazeta.ru, ITAR-TASS, Kommersant, RG, RIAN)

7 oktober 2014

Terrorist attacks prevented in Dagestan: The National Antiterrorism Committee said Monday that a series of terrorist attacks has been prevented in Dagestan. Earlier in the day, a member of the so-called Kizilyurt gang was killed in an operation in Dagestan. Two police officers were killed in the clash. (ii) Moskovsky Komsomolets raises the issue of whether Sunday's suicide bombing in Grozny (capital of Chechnya) might be linked to events in the Middle East and threats by Islamic State militants to unleash a war in the Caucasus. (Gazeta.ru, TASS, MK)

Interethnic tensions on decline: According to expert conclusions, the number of manifestations of interethnic enmity in Russia decreased by 35% in April-September 2014 against the background of the Ukraine crisis and Western sanctions against Russia. Interethnic tensions are particularly high in Moscow, Dagestan and the Khanty-Mansi district. (Gazeta.ru, Vedomosti)

9 oktober 2014

Three militants killed in Dagestan: (i) Three militants were killed in a shootout with police overnight Wednesday in Dagestan. According to the National Antiterrorism Committee, the militants who had been killed were involved in attacks on police officers and killings of clerics in Dagestan. (ii) The Russian Prosecutor General's Office warned of a proliferation of extremist Islamic ideology and increased ethnic tensions in Russia. (Kommersant, MT)

10 oktober 2014

IS rebel commander threatens Russia: Islamic State rebel commander Tarkhan Batirashvili (aka Omar al-Shishani, 'Omar the Chechen') told his father in a phone conversation that Russia would be the next target. "I'll come home and show the Russians," he is quoted as saying. The Moscow Times reports that "the Islamic State has put Russia high on its list of targets for the Kremlin's support of Syrian President Bashar Assad." (MT)

15 oktober 2014

Number of terrorism related crimes in Russia decreases: The head of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Bortnikov said that the number of terrorism related crimes in Russia has decreased by nearly 50% in 2014, y-o-y. A total of 69 terrorism related crimes have been registered since the beginning of the year, adding that 45 of them have been perpetrated in Dagestan. (MT, RIAN)

17 oktober 2014

Militants killed in Dagestan planned to go to fight in Syria: The National Antiterrorism Committee said Thursday that several militants have been killed in an operation in Dagestan's town of Derbent, adding that the militants who had been killed "planned to stage a terrorist attack and then go to Syria to fight on the side of radical armed groups." (Gazeta.ru)

21 oktober 2014

Russians view relations with West as tense — poll: According to a poll by the Levada-Centre, 43% of Russians described Russia's relations with the US as tense, 39% as hostile and 11% as cool. The same poll also showed that 50% view Russia's relations with the EU as tense, 16% as hostile and 25% as cool. At the same time, 66% of respondents said that the relations with the West need to be improved. A poll carried out by VTSIOM revealed that 22% of Russians suggested that a threat of terrorism is coming from the US (compared to 4% in November 2013). Only 3% said that a threat is coming from the Caucasus (20% in November 2013). (RBK daily, Kommersant; http://www.levada.ru/21-10-2014/vneshnepoliticheskie-vragi-i-partnery-rossii)